Wednesday, 23 December 2015

I have started another stitchy thing - have I completed any of the others yet?Well no - but - well you know how it is,the scrap fabric bag(s) seems to grow fuller and fuller!.Having done further sorting out I have put quite a lot in the scrap bags so the need to use some is upon me again.I decided I needed more access to my fabrics, you know, when you see it you realise its just what you want to use right?But can you remember all you have if its tucked away in boxes ... well I cant.I have a curtained off alcove in my now through front and back room and have set up tables with book shelves on them so a lot of the fabrics could be stacked in there.There is a similar walk in area in my bedroom too - also stacked with stash.No matter how many times I de-stash, someone seems to refill it!Anyway I have made some more floral scrap 1.25 hexis for my scrappy cover and now have begun some 7" square blocks for the Quilty 365.The link to get involved is here - http://quiltyfolk.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/quilty-365-year-long-quilting-journey.htmlI'm pretty sure Audrey is using 4.5" blocks but I have opted to use 7" ones and my circles are about 4" across and not very precisely cut if I'm honest.

The idea is to make a block a day, selecting colours that match your mood that day but like many others I am making a few blocks at a time. The placing could be much as above, but Debbie at stitchingtherapy.blogspot.com has suggested staggering the vertical lines of blocks so that to square up the final cover, you can use some half blocks and thus, half circles. I quite like that idea, especially since I doubt I will ever manage to piece the blocks so well that corners all meet as they should!I am making this one up - and I won't be making it as large as the 365-one-a-day blocks - in a cream/brown colourways, in fact that yellow circle already looks out of place to me.But I want to make another couple of covers in brighter colourways later, this is my tester piece to use in my front room, since it matches my colour scheme.Right off to start block 3 of Hocuspocusville : )

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

Well the Winter Solstice has passed, so slowly the days will begin to stretch out and the darker hours should get shorter.Bring it on!Though that's wishing your life away isn't it lol hmmm Pulled out my Christmas fabric hexis again this year but they had become all tangled up and it was almost worse than untangling fairy lights!So this year they are danglies, rather than tree garlanded. And they will be wound round something when they go back in storage!

Nipped into town today to pick up a gift and passed a homeless man asking for change.So after I had picked up the item, I dashed into a store and bought a small French stick packed with pork and gravy, a carton of chips and a hot chololate drink and went to give it to him.And wouldn't you know - he'd moved on!Wandered around looking for him but in the end took the food to my daughter who works nearby there and hoped she'd eat it for her lunch!LOL So much for my pay it forward for today!I donated again this year to the Soi Dog Foundation, which I follow on Facebook. They recue dogs and cats from the Thailand Meat Trade - I know, doesn't bear thinking about does it.The founder is an English woman who started the charity after going to live in Thailand and was so appalled that they ate dogs and treated them so disgustingly.Remarkably in trying to trap a particular dog she waded through waters and contracted a very nasty contagion and had to have her lower legs amputated.But it didn't dilute her resolve to rescue the animals, remarkable eh?Not for her the Oscar Pistorious fancy prosthetics, she has unstable and uncomfortable equipment especially in that heat and yet is as determined as ever to save as many animals as she can.The thing is, did you know that if you have unused frequent flyer miles, you can donate them to the Soi Dog Foundation and they are used to pay for volunteers who travel with the animals that are homed and have to travel overseas!Adopted animals can travel by cargo to their new countries but if they have a human volunteer take them on board as carry on baggage, then together with a personal handover to the new owners at the arrival airport, it makes the animals journey far less stressful.Having loaded aircraft holds myself as an Air Load Master, (though then always bags, freight or sadly, deceased soldiers,) I know too well how scary a journey in a forward hold can be. So should you have spare air miles, or know anyone who doesn't use theirs, please spread the word.And if you are travelling to that side of the world on certain airlines, please consider being a volunteer attendant traveller too perhaps!No more pictures today, will do some photography over the next few days and post some catch ups after Christmas.I wish you all a very, Merry Christmas, however and to whomever you celebrate, please have a peaceful and calming time.Lyn

Saturday, 5 December 2015

but if I got the ironing board out I would feel obliged to iron the clothes sat in a pile on the chair over there as well ....hmm that was my thought process and a sure you follow the logic!I was going to write xmas cards but someone has put the address book in a safe place ... there's a down side to not having anyone else to blame ...Was it you Max?Was it you Hilly?Or you Harvey? 3 pairs of eyes look at me - like as if they care!I made some xmas tree dangly snowmen faces again this year but knitted their hats this time. I had fashioned very simple patterns myself for the hats but actually there's a wealth of weeny free knitted hat patterns online you could use.

You know those Innocent Smoothie drinks? Well there's a fund of free knitted hat patterns online you could use, it might have saved me a bit of time if Id thought of looking at them first!I have used white powder puffs (seconds shapes I picked up at Scrapstore) and beneath the hats are some very weird misshapes believe me.The smiles are grape 'branches', bead-y eyes and felt carrot noses.I have used invisible thread to hang them but made it quite short so with a pin on the back, they can be used as a broach/pin instead if you like.I could go get the xmas decs out of the loft now I suppose, but it's as windy as it might be in Hades .... not ideal sound effects for climbing stair ladders ... and if the huge winds blow the roof off, clearly I'd be at great risk.Hmm time for a G&T and to get the next Hocus block fabric ready to trace the pattern onto!That's an added cost too - a light box! : )

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

Well how did December arrive so quickly? It creeps up on you have you noticed?I made a few things for the Green Fair but it was a very poor turn out, which was unusual, normally its well attended and I sell a reasonable amount.I covered the cost of the stall and then some but managed to spend that on some hand mades from another stall lol ( xmas gifts)Okay, not 'another' cat picture I hear you say- but this is an amazingly special cat picture!

Hilly cat has been with me since I rescued her 10+ years ago.She had 3 kittens with her and yet she was only around 6 to 8 months old herself.2 kittens had already died and the remaining one didn't survive despite my best efforts. Hilly was and always has been terribly nervous but not feral.I always suspected she had been left behind when folks moved or been kicked out whilst pregnant.A kindly old chap provided shelter for her when she wandered into his garden but wouldn't let him touch her.He fed her for afew weeks before contacting us and I went for her.She wasn't too hard to catch, no trap needed, just some cagey manoeuvres and food lure.Well tonight for the first time EVER, she climbed onto my knee and snuggled down. And after an hour or so of my not daring to move ... and my really needing a pee! - she climbed back on my lap when I got back!It's taken all these years going at her pace and this reward is much better than a lotto win for me.Okay daft I may be, but its a blessing none the less.I succumbed and sent off to the USA for a patchwork and embroidery pattern and it has arrived!Its cost more than I anticipated but even so, worth every penny.Its Hocuspocusville by Meg Hawkey and from Crabapple Hill Studio.

There's an assortment of pictures there to give you an idea what the design is like.The pattern and postage was £39 and then the bloody UK Customs hit me for £7.75 AND Royal Mail charged me £8 handling fee!Why should they charge me handling when they are already paid wages to deliver the damned mail anyway?So annoying lolI saw the pattern on Barbara's blog, she's been making it bit by bit and showing her stages as she stitched them.(http://catpatches.blogspot.co.uk/) I fell for the witchy humorous embroidery designs and have now started it. Am all but finished block 4 so will post it shortly.Here's the pattern printed on my fabric before stitching, not sure if you can make out the sign post which says Lost small dog call Dorothy

I should point out this isn't a transfer pattern its a light box and micron pen draw onto the fabric pattern.

So I had to buy the A3 light box and 2 pens too LOL

( There goes my winter fuel allowance and I have only bought half the fabrics needed so far too -)

In between the rain and wind storms of late I did some garden tidying and lopped some errant branches off next doors curly wurly branched tree.

One longer branch needed to be cut into pieces to fit in the recycling bin and lo and behold, one piece caught my eye.

About Me

Ex married ( just the once), Ex Police, Ex RAF. Hmm I know, all those Ex's, but its not as bad as it sounds, honestly, so please don't be put off!
Im a Mum, a Nanna, a working CL-artist and one whose Creative Gene is always wittering at me to do this or try that... Its therapuetic fun and beats paying for a Psychiatrist.
Though considering Im here, talking to msyelf on a blog, I do sometimes wonder.........lol